Wife surprised me with a birthday trip to Austin this Saturday through weds.

Went through the BA reviews, that sort of thing - but looking for places to check out - bars, bottle shops, great food - what places should I check out?

JK is certainly happening. Want to play at least one round of disc golf - so if anyone plays, would love to hear what local course you dig.

Thanks!!

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Breweries around these parts are generally open Thurs/Fri-Sun, so be sure to plan on hitting those the first part of your trip. Jester King is releasing their first 1.5L magnum release this weekend, so enjoy the shitshow if you go on Saturday, lol (it'll prolly sell out Sat afternoon). I'd say the other great places to hit up beer-wise are Austin Beerworks (Fri-Sun), Hops & Grain (Fri-Sun), and Pinthouse Pizza (brewpub, 7 days a week).

As far as bars go... Draught House is definitely the local favorite. You'll definitely want to hit up Craft Pride as well, which serves ~60 taps of only Texas-brewed beer AND has a small bottle shop (and a nice patio).

Bottle shops: if you're downtown, head over to East 1st Grocery. South: Whichcraft (the only "true" bottleshop in the city) or Central Market Westgate. North: Sunrise Mini-Mart.

I won't be in town early enough on Saturday to be smack dab in the middle of the JK shitshow, so it sounds like I should plan my JK trip for Sunday.

I'll have a rental car while there, so I'll def. check out some of those bottle shops. Do you see Yellow Rose on tap often? I've loved the bottles I've had and it would be great to get a couple fresh pours of it while I'm in town.

I won't be in town early enough on Saturday to be smack dab in the middle of the JK shitshow, so it sounds like I should plan my JK trip for Sunday.

I'll have a rental car while there, so I'll def. check out some of those bottle shops. Do you see Yellow Rose on tap often? I've loved the bottles I've had and it would be great to get a couple fresh pours of it while I'm in town.

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YR is usually on tap at Craft Pride or Draught House... I would call to confirm. It runs out quick.

Lutter gave you a pretty good list. You can find Yellow Rose on tap a few different places- I've seen it at the Draught House, Pinthouse, Craft Pride often. Also you should try hops & grain's A Pale Mosaic, which they are releasing today around town.

Lutter gave you a pretty good list. You can find Yellow Rose on tap a few different places- I've seen it at the Draught House, Pinthouse, Craft Pride often. Also you should try hops & grain's A Pale Mosaic, which they are releasing today around town.

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Sally's! You have excellent taste. Their pepperoni pie is my go to apizza.

My wife mentioned a pizza place down there with a lot of taps, but can't remember the name. She always makes me try pizza in other markets with an open mind. Growing up in New Haven, it's tough to compete.

Sally's! You have excellent taste. Their pepperoni pie is my go to apizza.

My wife mentioned a pizza place down there with a lot of taps, but can't remember the name. She always makes me try pizza in other markets with an open mind. Growing up in New Haven, it's tough to compete.

Big Mosaic fan. Def. Will be on the lookout for that pale ale.

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Your wife was probably talking about Pinthouse Pizza - they have like 60 taps as well? The best 5 pizza places in Austin IMO are Pieous (also has brisket pastrami...), Via 313, Stanley's (at JK), Salvation (New Haven style!), and Home Slice...so take her to one of those! The pizza is still delicious at Pinthouse, but there is just too much delicious competition.

There's too much other good food...anything you are looking for? Have you been to Austin before, or first time?

Go to Freedmen's. Brisket, duck, pork, house pickles, tangy slaw, smoked chocolate mousse (which they were out of both times I went...jerks)... Don't know about their beer list, but they make AMAZING cocktails. So good. I want to go back to Austin just to go there.

Go to Freedmen's. Brisket, duck, pork, house pickles, tangy slaw, smoked chocolate mousse (which they were out of both times I went...jerks)... Don't know about their beer list, but they make AMAZING cocktails. So good. I want to go back to Austin just to go there.

First time. I want brisket. Is it worth the wait at that famous nerdy guys place?

(Edit: Franklin's?)

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Franklin's is great, but La Barbecue is like 95% as good with half the wait. But you can also bring beer to drink in line at Franklins, so if you go on a Tuesday/Wednesday at like 10 AM, then you can enjoy a morning beer or two and probably not wait too long after they open at 11.

Or if you want a beautiful drive through the hill country with lots of wildflowers, go 25 minutes south of the airport to Lockhart and eat at Smitty's (super old school, smokers inside have turned all the walls black, eat with your hands). Never heard of Freedmen's and I live like 2 miles away...thanks sb67!

Other stuff to do: visit the flagship Whole Foods downtown, walk around Lady Bird Lake, eat some tacos at Tacodeli or Torchy's, see some random live music downtown, maybe even meet some TB weirdos at the Draught House or something. I haven't been disc golfing in years but I know they have a couple courses close to downtown - one at Zilker Park and one at Roy Guerrero Park.

Franklin's is great, but La Barbecue is like 95% as good with half the wait. But you can also bring beer to drink in line at Franklins, so if you go on a Tuesday/Wednesday at like 10 AM, then you can enjoy a morning beer or two and probably not wait too long after they open at 11.

Or if you want a beautiful drive through the hill country with lots of wildflowers, go 25 minutes south of the airport to Lockhart and eat at Smitty's (super old school, smokers inside have turned all the walls black, eat with your hands). Never heard of Freedmen's and I live like 2 miles away...thanks sb67!

Other stuff to do: visit the flagship Whole Foods downtown, walk around Lady Bird Lake, eat some tacos at Tacodeli or Torchy's, see some random live music downtown, maybe even meet some TB weirdos at the Draught House or something. I haven't been disc golfing in years but I know they have a couple courses close to downtown - one at Zilker Park and one at Roy Guerrero Park.

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Last time I was there, my friend showed me the morning line at Franklin's, had a good laugh, and took me to Freedmen's for dinner that night instead. So good. I'm not local, but I feel like I'm giving away local secrets, lol.

The flagship Whole Foods was pretty awesome. Walk-in beer fridge? Yes, please, thanks!
Also did Torchy's (trashy) and Amy's (ice cream with booze in it!) and Alamo Drafthouse. All worthwhile. If you've got an afternoon to kill, Ladybird Johnson Wildflower center was definitely worth the sunburn I got.

Nearly forgot: Hopdoddy.
My friends have been *raving* about it since it opened, and have sworn they'll take me there when I visit -- after 9pm on a Sunday is apparently when to go to beat the crowd. Local tap list and awesome-looking burgers. Their check-ins and photos always make me want to race to the airport to catch the next flight.

This is all amazing info. Thanks so much guys! You're all excellent embasadors for what sounds like an amazing place. Can't wait to get down there. Although I'm enjoying the warmest day of the year here (a sunny 58 degrees!), I'm looking forward to some warm weather too.

How about bluegrass? any places to see live bluegrass in the city? My wife worked for a bg/roots label for a long time, and we don't see too many quality acts come through CT.

First time. I want brisket. Is it worth the wait at that famous nerdy guys place?

(Edit: Franklin's?)

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OK, I'm going to share a secret with you that even lots of locals dont seem to know. Aaron Franklin expanded his location last year, and added a bunch of gigantic smokers - I believe they're up to 9 now. So while there is still a line in the morning (check the Twitter feed @franklinbbqline for a daily photo in the morning) food now typically lasts much longer in the day. I know people who have gone at 2, 3 or even 4 in the afternoon, and had plenty of food still available. So if you really want to tick Franklin, swing by during the early afternoon and see if you can make it happen.

Otherwise, La BBQ is solid, and Terry Blacks (which opened recently on Barton Springs Rd) is pretty friggin awesome, tends to have food all day, AND has amazing beef ribs (which are my favorite) and great sides.

This is all amazing info. Thanks so much guys! You're all excellent embasadors for what sounds like an amazing place. Can't wait to get down there. Although I'm enjoying the warmest day of the year here (a sunny 58 degrees!), I'm looking forward to some warm weather too.

How about bluegrass? any places to see live bluegrass in the city? My wife worked for a bg/roots label for a long time, and we don't see too many quality acts come through CT.

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A good place to track down info about music and everything else going on around town is do512.com TONS of great information

Funfact: if you've got a car, there's usually not much of a line at the newer Hopdoddy location up on Anderson Lane... about 7 or so miles north of Downtown. I would personally rather go to Hutt's Hamburgers or Snack Bar myself for a burger though. *shrug*